KAPOW (Knowledge and Power of Women) is a weekly program for women-identified people who do sex work and/or use drugs. Founded in Parkdale in 2009, KAPOW is a harm reduction based, sex positive, trans-inclusive, peer-supported drop-in that runs every Friday morning from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m.

KAPOW includes a nutritious breakfast and is led by PCHC’s multidisciplinary staff team made up of a social worker/therapist, harm reduction program lead, Hep C treatment nurse, and harm reduction peer workers. KAPOW has evolved and grown through our partnership with Sistering, who provide their harm reduction coordinator to help plan and develop programming and peer outreach workers who support the group and lead workshops.

All of our weekly activities—such as health education workshops, gentle stretching exercises, indigenous teachings, safer sex and drug use information, mindfulness based stress reduction, HIV/AIDS and Hep C prevention, bad date reports and safer sex work strategies, and social justice activism— are informed and developed with KAPOW members. We also play games, watch movies, celebrate the seasons, and make arts and crafts!